Shirt



(No Model.)

A. V. HUMPHREY.

SHIRT.

No. 39o,673, ?ment-,ed Oct. 9, 1888.

ABBIE VESTA HUMPHREY, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHIRT.

SPECIFICATION formi'g part of Letters Patent No. 390.67 3, dated October9. 1888.

Application filed January 25, 1888. Serial No. 261.864. (No model.)

To all whom 't may concern:

Be it known that I, ABBIE VISTA HUM- PHREY, of Somerville, in the Countyof MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Shirts, which will, in connection with the ac-.conpanying drawings, be hcreinafter fully described, and specicallydefined in the appended clains.

Myinventiou has for its object to provide a convenient, cheap, andeffective means of adjusting shirt-sleeves,so that the wristbands andcuffs attached thereto will be held in proper place upon the arms of thewearer. By investigation and practical experinents I have discoveredthat the position of the wristbands and cuffs,whether high or lowon thewrists of the Wearer, isnot wholly determined by the length of thesleeve from the shoulder where it is joined to the body of the shirt.Shirt-sleeves, in order to give the requisite freedom of movement to thearms, must necessarily be loose, and the body of the shirt must also beloose, and is usually open in the back, between the shoulders, tofacilitate putting it on and taking it off. When this looseness or'fullness in the back is not kept gathered between the shoulders, andthe usual opening therein is not kept closed, the arms, When raised andswung forward, will draw upon, such fullness and cause the back of theShirt, where the sleeves are attached, to cxtend sonewhat onto the arms,and when the arms are dropped, unless such drawn-out fullness of theback is readjusted, the wristbands and cutfs will unduly project overthe hands. Gonsequently the nost practical way to adjust the sleeves, toremed y that difficulty, as I have found by ekperiment, is to controlthe looseness of the shirt in the back between the sleeves; and myinvention consists in certain attachments to the Shirt' for thatpurpose, and their arrangement and mode of operation, which arelereinafter fnlly described and claimed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention, in which- V Figure lis an illustrative View showing my improvements in shirts as constructedand practically worn. Fig. 2 is an illustrative View designed to showthe contrast, by comparison with Fig. 1, between a shirt of ordinaryConstruction and without my improvement and one with ny improvement, andits practical advantages. Figs. 3 and 4 are views showing in detail anddetached the construction of the back-strap and one of the attach mentsby which it is secured to the shirt when in practical use. p

I attach two button-bole pieces, A A, to the shirt,each having abutton-bole therein, and se;

the sleeves B B with the body O of the shirt. These attachments arearranged opposite each other across the back of the shirt, and in suchposition that if the arms of the wearer are raised and extendedhorizontally then the attachment will be centrally in line with the armsand elbows, and properly serve as fastenings, to which the ends of anelastic strap, D, are secured by means of buttons E E, fastened to saidends, as shown. This strap may be made in one piece, of suitable length,ac` cording to the size of the shirt, but preferably in two partsadjustably united by a buckle or other appropriate means, and whenbuttoned onto the attachments A A does not require to be detached fromthe same, except when the shirt goes to the laundry, as its elasticityrenders it perfcctly feasible and convenient for the wearer to put onand take off his shirt with the strap in place and sccured to the pieccsA A, as shown, and it allows ample freedom for the movements of thearms,while it draws up and controls with sufieient clastic force to keepthe sleeves in place the looseness of the sleeves and 'readjusts thesame after such movements ot'the arms as draw thereon, as beforedescribed. A light elastic force-such as will give the wearer nodiscomfort--is all that is required for this purpose, and the tendencyof the force as applied is obviously beneficial.

It is obvious that various well-known devices-such as hooks, spring-clanps, &c -may be substituted in place of the buttons upon strap D; but Iconsider the buttons preferable and less wearing to the linings of'garnents made in the straps and the buttons be Secured to theattachments A A; but this exchange ot' positions would be objectionable,as the butto get pullcd off in the laundry.

cure them by stitching in the seams which unite e worn over them, andbutton-holes might be IOO tous would be in the way in washing and liableQ &390,673

The improvement in shirts shown and above 'described is simple, cheap,and effective in overcomin g the difficulties and defects in Shirtsabove stated.

I am aware that it is old and common to wear attachments ouShirt-sleeves which secure the sleeves in position on the arms whenshortened by doubling and folding upon themselves, and that suchattachments consist, variously, of elastic bands or armiets worn aroundthe arms and sleeves, of elastie straps at tached Iongitudinally to thesleeves, and of button-bole pieces Secured to the sleeves, to getherwith buttons and other means of fasteniug, whercby the lower portion ofthe sleeves may be looped up and held Suspended from the upper portionby means of said button-hole pieces and buttons. All such devices dragdown upon the sleeves, as well as hold up the lower portions, andrequire to be (luplieated. My invention differs from ali these in thatit adj usts the sleeves upon the arms by means of a siugleeiastic strapextended across the back between the sleeves, and by such 10- 'cationand arrangement draws both the sleeves Upward bodily without foldsthei-ein, gathering the looscness iu the back instead of aceumulat ingfullness on the sleeves, thus securiug, as stated, a better result in amore simple and con venient mannor.

I claim as my inventonl. A shirt having a button-bole tab, A, on theback of each sieeve at the interseeton of the sleeve with the body ofthe shirt, in combination With au adjustable elastic strap connectedwith said tabs and extended across the back of the shirt, as set forth.

2. The combinatiou, with a shirt, of buttonhole pioces or tabs A A,arrauged one opposite the other at the back of the sleeve, and adapted,by construction and arrangement relatively to each other and thesleeves, as described, to serve as fastenings for a detachable strapextended from one tab to the other across the back, as and for thepurpose specified.

3. The eombinatiou, With the sleeves of a shirt, of an elastic strapconnected therewith and extended across the back of the shirt from onesleeve to the other, as and for the purposes specified.

ABBIE VESTA HUMPHREY.

VVitnesses:

C. L. BECK, H. B. BECK.

